I went to the kitchen

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I have always had combination skin. The rich, nourishing lotions that my chin and forehead cry out for is anathema to my oilier nose and t-zone.  That part of my face likes an astringent, please, as sharp and as often as it can get away with.

It feels like I've spent most of my life carrying lots more lotions and potions in my little bag than the other girls. And dating was horrendous, all that hormone-enduced sweating and worrying that my nose was shining again.





I've tried everything. Noxema (mmm! How romantic when your girlfriend smells like Vicks Vapo-rub!) Bonnie Bell, Ten-0-Six, Ivory soap, egg yolks, egg whites, Neutragena, Caster soap, Lancome, cold steeped tea, masks and facials, Aveda, powders, potions and concoctions of every type. I even tried not wearing any makeup. (My skin didn't like that either.)


It began to feel that good skin was a long hard slog to nowhere.



Out of nowhere, a friend started looking radiant. That pure Pre-Raphaelite loveliness which usually comes from falling in love. When asked, though, she had a strange answer.

'Oil.'

I recoiled. Oil was the reason my hair was limp, my skin cloudy and dull! Now she was telling me that she used oil everyday, that instead of wiping it away all the time, she was putting more - deliberately! - on her face.

But it was working for her. She easily looked five years younger. My skin hadn't looked that good since high school. I settled in. Maybe....just maybe...there was something to this??

Sara grinned and went on.

Oil dissolves oil. Really. Massaging in natural oils (a blend of castor and virgin olive) dissolves the oil trapped in your skin, letting impurities (hello, blackheads!!)  and toxins be released, opening those blocked pores breathe. 

Castor Oil, the first part of this blend,  is an anti-inflammatory oil that heals and cleanses. Since it is too strong to be used alone, though it's best mixed with olive oil - a lighter, silkier feeling oil that sends the castor oil deep in your skin. The best ratio for my combination skin was about 25% castor, the rest olive.

I was fascinated. 'You do this every day?'

'Well' she said, 'not now. But at first I was doing it every night.'

At night, Sara was taking her makeup off with oil. Using long, smooth strokes, she'd massage it in. Then she'd use a steamy washcloth and give herself a facial, wiping off the oil as the cloth cooled before she'd get another. When she got up in the morning, she swore she could see the change in her skin already, and it just kept getting better.

Now she just did her 'oil wash' twice a week, and was still amazed and gratified that she had reliably gorgeous skin.


I hate to admit that it took me a month before I tried it.


But now? Now I don't carry around wipes and bottles. I don't have to bother with concealer and powder.My nose isn't slick anymore, my forehead, not tight and dry. 

Don't believe me? I don't blame you. But try it. Go in the kitchen and find the answer to your skin problems.






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